Outdoor seafood boiling apparatus

ABSTRACT

An outdoor food frying apparatus includes a frame having a pot support, a burner element supported upon the frame, and a pot that removably fits the frame. The pot has end walls, a rear wall, a front edge portion, and a bottom wall. A basket is pivotally attached to the pot rear wall with one or more hinges. The basket is correspondingly sized and shaped to fit the pot interior. The basket is movable about the hinge between cooking and food discharge positions. The lid is pivotally attached to the pot. The lid is movable between a cooking position wherein the lid covers the pot upper opening and food discharge position wherein the lid rotates at least 180 degrees from said cooking position, forming a tray for receiving food discharged from the basket. A steamer plate can optionally be connected to the basket at the basket rim and/or basket side walls.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/188,326,filed on Jun. 21, 2018 (issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 10,098,493 on Sep. 16,2018), which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 62/183,534, filed 23 Jun. 2015. This is also a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/188,326, filed on Jun. 21, 2018 (issuingas U.S. Pat. No. 10,098,493 on Sep. 16, 2018), which is a continuationin part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/480,137, filed 8 Sep.2014 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,675,198, issued on Jun. 13, 2017), which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/208,551,filed 12 Aug. 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,826,807, issued on 9 Sep. 2014),which is a nonprovisional of and claims the benefit of both U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/373,069, filed 12 Aug. 2010,and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/405,983, filed 22Oct. 2010, all of the above referenced patent applications and/orpatents are hereby incorporated herein by reference and priority to/ofis hereby claimed.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to gaseous fueled fired outdoor fryingdevices such as deep fat fryers. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to an improved outdoor frying apparatus having aspecially configured pot and a basket with shallow and deep sectionsthat fits the pot interior, the basket being pivotally connected to thepot at a hinge and along a first edge of the pot, the basket having aramp section opposite the hinge for camming or biasing or pushing cookedfood items to gravitate toward the deep section of the basket as thebasket is rotated from a cooking position to a dumping position. The pothas a configuration that corresponds to and conforms generally to thebasket. A specially configured steaming arrangement is provided thatenables the apparatus to both boil/steam food items (e.g., crabs,shrimp, crawfish and the like).

2. General Background of the Invention

Many food frying devices have been patented. Examples can be found inthe following table.

The following U.S. Patents and Publications are incorporated herein byreference:

ISSUE DATE/ PAT. NO./ PUBL. DATE PAT. PUBL. TITLE MM-DD-YYYY 2,550,758French Fryer May 1, 1951 2,707,428 Food Boiling Apparatus May 3, 19553,714,889 Outdoor Deep Fryer Feb. 6, 1973 3,971,307 Deep Fat Fryer Jul.27, 1976 3,975,070 Flour and Batter Apparatus Aug. 17, 1976 4,250,803Deep Fryer Feb. 17, 1981 4,420,006 Spray Cleaning System for Frying Dec.13, 1983 Apparatus 4,580,024 Microwave Deep Fat Fryer Apr. 1, 19864,623,544 Constant Temperature Fryer/Cooker Nov. 18, 1986 Assembly5,209,218 Deep Frying Apparatus May 11, 1993 5,398,668 Deep FryingApparatus Mar. 21, 1995 5,577,438 Gas Fired Deep Fat Fryer Nov. 26, 19965,642,660 Gas Fired Deep Fat Fryer Jul. 1, 1997 5,918,535 Apparatus forSuspending an Inner Jul. 6, 1999 Basket Within an Outer Pot of a Cook-ing Vessel, and Method for Using Same 8,826,807 Outdoor Seafood BoilingApparatus Sep. 9, 2014 2006/0260602 Cooking Apparatus Nov. 23, 2006

The following applications and patents are also hereby incorporatedherein by reference:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/480,137, filed 8 Sep. 2014, which isa continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/208,551, filed 12 Aug. 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,826,807, issued on 9Sep. 2014), which is a nonprovisional of and claims benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/373,069, filed 12 Aug. 2010,and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/405,983, filed 22Oct. 2010.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a food frying apparatus for use in anoutdoor setting. The apparatus includes a frame fitted with one or moreburner elements supported upon the frame, the burner element(s) beingpositioned below a pot that is supported by the frame. The pot can beeccentrically shaped to concentrate more of the pot total volume near aprovided pivotal connection, hinged connection, or hinge that joins abasket to the pot. The pot rests upon the base, the pot having a bottomwall, side walls and an open top.

The present invention provides an outdoor food frying apparatus thatincludes a frame having a pot support, a burner element supported uponthe frame, and a pot that can removably fit the frame. The pot has endwalls, a rear wall, a front edge portion, and a bottom wall thatgradually increases in curvature from the rear wall to the front edgeportion. A basket can be pivotally attached to the pot rear wall withone or more hinges. The basket can be correspondingly sized and shapedto fit the pot interior. The basket can be movable about the hingebetween cooking and food discharge positions. The lid can be pivotallyattached to the pot. The lid can be movable between a cooking positionwherein the lid covers the pot upper opening and food discharge positionwherein the lid rotates at least 180 degrees from the cooking position,forming a tray for receiving food discharged from the basket. A steamerplate can optionally be connected to the basket at the basket rim and/orbasket side walls.

A basket can be sized and shaped to conform to the shape of the pot andoccupy the pot interior, the basket pivotally connecting to the potalong a pot edge and with the hinge or hinged connection.

A pot lid removably fits and covers the open top. The lid can bepivotally or hingedly connected to the frame.

The apparatus optionally employs a steaming plate that can be supportedby the basket.

The present invention provides a seafood boiler apparatus including abase and a pot that rests upon the base.

The pot can have a bottom wall, side walls, an open top, a pot shallowend portion and a pot deep end portion.

A basket can be sized and shaped to occupy the pot interior, and thebasket can have an upper rim that includes a rim front edge, rim sidesand a rear edge.

The basket can be pivotally connected to the pot at a hinge located nextto the rear edge.

A pot lid can removably fit and cover the open top.

The pot depth gradually decreasing from a maximum depth vertically belowthe pivot to a minimum depth at a position spaced farthest away from thehinge.

A steamer plate can optionally fit inside the basket.

A plurality of hangers can preferably enable the steamer plate toconnect with the basket rim.

In one embodiment, at least one side wall preferably has a partialelliptical shape.

In one embodiment, at least two of the side walls preferably has apartial elliptical shape.

In one embodiment, the pot bottom wall can be curved.

In one embodiment, the lid can be hingedly attached to the pot.

In one embodiment, the lid can be rotatably attached to the pot.

In one embodiment, the pot preferably has a hinge mounted above the potdeep end portion, the lid preferably being rotatably attached to the potat the hinge.

In one embodiment, the lid can be rotatably attached to the pot and canfurther comprise multiple stops that enable the lid to be opened todifferent positions. The lid positions can form different angles withthe top of the pot.

In one embodiment, one of the angles can be an obtuse angle.

In one embodiment, one of the angles can be an angle of about 180degrees.

The present invention provides a seafood boiler apparatus comprising aframe having a pot support, a burner element supported upon the frame,and a pot that removably fits the frame.

The pot can have end walls, a rear wall, a front edge portion, and aninclined bottom wall that can gradually change the water depth in thepot from a deep pot depth next to the rear wall to a shallow pot depthnext to the front edge portion. The bottom can connect between the rearwall and the front edge portion. The bottom wall can connect to each ofthe end walls.

A basket can be pivotally attached to the pot rear wall, the basket canbe correspondingly sized and shaped to the pot so that it can fit withinthe pot interior.

The basket can be movable about the hinge between cooking and fooddischarge positions.

The basket can have flat side walls, a curved bottom wall and a rearwall.

A lid can be movably attached to the pot. The lid can be movable betweena cooking position wherein the lid covers the pot upper opening and fooddischarge position wherein the lid rotates through at least an obtuseangle from the cooking position. The lid can form a tray for receivingfood discharged from the basket when the basket rotates to the dischargeposition.

A steamer plate can optionally fit inside the basket.

A plurality of hangers can enable the steamer plate to connect with thebasket rim.

In one embodiment, the pot bottom wall can be curved.

In one embodiment, each of the two pot end walls preferably have apartial elliptical shape.

In one embodiment, the pot bottom wall can preferably be ellipticallycurved.

In one embodiment, the lid can preferably be pivotally attached to thepot.

In one embodiment, the lid can preferably be rotatably attached to thepot.

In one embodiment, the basket rear wall can preferably be a planar rearwall that forms a connection with a basket hinge.

In one embodiment, the basket can preferably pivotally connect to thepot with a pinned hinged connection that can be removable so that thebasket can be separated from the pot by removing the pinned hingedconnections.

The present invention includes a seafood boiler apparatus comprising abase, a pot that rests upon the base, the pot having a bottom wall, sidewalls, an open top, a pot shallow end portion and a pot deep endportion.

A basket can be sized and shaped to occupy the pot interior, the baskethaving an upper rim that includes a rim front edge, rim sides and a rearedge and pivotally connecting to the pot at a hinge located next to therear edge.

A pot lid can be removably fits and covers the open top.

A moveable lid support can be attached to the base and can extend behindthe base and below the pivot, the movable lid support enabling a supportof the lid in multiple angular positions including at least one positionthat forms an obtuse angle with a horizontal plane and a second positionthat forms an angle that is smaller than the obtuse angle.

The lid support can include multiple connectors on the base atvertically spaced apart positions and a moving frame that extendsbetween the lid and a selected one of the connectors.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a steamer plate thatcan fit inside the basket.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a plurality ofhangers that can enable the steamer plate to connect with the basketrim.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a burner elementsupported upon the frame.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises one or more inclinedbaffle plates supported on the frame.

In one embodiment, one or more baffle plates can extend from a positionnear the pot bottom wall to a position about even with the top of theburner element.

The present invention includes a seafood boiler apparatus comprising aframe having a pot support. A burner element can be supported upon theframe. A pot can removably fit the frame, the pot having end walls, arear portion, a front portion, and a bottom wall, the bottom wallconnecting between the rear portion and the front portion, the bottomwall connected to each of the end walls.

A basket can be pivotally attached to the pot rear wall, the basket canbe correspondingly sized and shaped to the pot so that it fits withinthe pot interior, the basket being movable between cooking and fooddischarge positions.

A lid can be movably attached to the assembly of base and pot, the lidbeing movable between a cooking position wherein the lid covers the potupper opening and multiple food discharge positions wherein the lidrotates through at least an obtuse angle from the cooking position,wherein the lid forms a generally horizontally positioned tray forreceiving food discharged from the basket when the basket rotates to afirst discharge position.

The lid can be supported in an inclined position that forms an obtuseangle with the lid cooking position in a second discharge position.

A movable support that can enable selective support of the lid in eitherthe first or the second discharge position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

For a further understanding of the nature, objects, and advantages ofthe present invention, reference should be had to the following detaileddescription, read in conjunction with the following drawings, whereinlike reference numerals denote like elements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of theapparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the apparatusof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a preferred embodiment ofthe apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a preferred embodiment of theapparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a preferred embodiment of theapparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a preferred embodiment of theapparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of a preferred embodiment of theapparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an elevation view of an alternate embodiment of the apparatusof the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an elevation view of an alternate embodiment of the apparatusof the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of theapparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus ofthe present invention;

FIG. 13 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus ofthe present invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective fragmentary view of another embodiment of theapparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 14;and

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-8 show a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the presentinvention designated generally by the numeral 10. Apparatus 10 ispreferably of welded steel or welded aluminum construction. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, outdoor frying apparatus 10 provides a base or frame 12.The frame or base 12 can be somewhat elevated, supported on a pluralityof legs or feet 84. Burner element or elements 13 are supported on frameor base 12 for generating a flame or flames 85 for transferring heat toa cooking vessel or pot 11. A fuel supply line 14 can be in the form ofa pipe that supplies fuel to each burner element 13. The burner elements13 are conventional in that they can comprise a burner jet 86 inside ofa vertically positioned open ended pipe or tube 87. Such burner elements13 are commercially available. Fuel supply line 14 is provided with aninfluent fitting 15 for enabling a connection to be made to a fuelsupply hose 88 that is connected to a source of fuel such as apressurized canister of propane or butane or a source of natural gas.Baffle plates 109, 110 can be supported on frame or base 12 in aninclined position. Each baffle plate 109, 110 can be secured to frame orbase 12 with connector 113, 114 that extends from frame 12 to a positionalong the edge of plate 109, 110. The top portion of plates 109, 110 canbe secured to frame 12 with a welded connection 116. Baffle plates canconcentrate the heat generated from burner elements 13 onto the bottomof a cooking vessel or pot 11. Each plate 109, 110 starts at a positionat the pot bottom and extends to a position about even with the top of aburner element 13. A gap is provided in between plates 109, 110 andburner element 13 to allow airflow.

Pot 11 has a pot interior 16 that is receptive of basket 40. Pot 11 hasa pair of opposed end walls 17, 18, a rear wall 19, and a bottom wall20. A seam or joint (for example, welded connection) 21 joins pot rearwall 19 to pot bottom wall 20. A curved seam or curved joint 22 (e.g.welded) joins end wall 17 to pot bottom wall 20. Similarly, a curvedseam or curved joint 23 joins end wall 18 to pot bottom wall 20 (seeFIGS. 1-3).

Each end wall 17, 18 has an upper edge 24, 25. End wall 17 has upperedge 24. End wall 18 has upper edge 25. Rear wall 19 has upper edge 27.An upper edge 26 is provided as an end of bottom wall 20. The upper edge26 is generally opposite and can be parallel to upper edge 27 (see FIG.3).

Each of the curved joints or seams 22, 23 provides a curvature 28 thatgradually increases in curvature between upper edge 26 and seam 21 (seeFIGS. 1-2). As an example, each of the end walls 17, 18 can be in theshape of a part (e.g., one fourth) of an ellipse. In the drawings, areference point 29 is the intersection of upper edge 26 and upper edge25 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). Another reference point 30 is the intersectionof rear wall 19 and bottom wall 20 (see FIG. 2). The curvature betweenreference points 29 and 30 gradually increases beginning at referencepoint 29 with a smaller radius of curvature for the curvature 28 orcurved seam or joint 22, 23 and ending with a greater radius ofcurvature at reference point 30.

The plurality of upper edges 24, 25, 26, 27 define a horizontal plane 31(see FIG. 2). Notice that the bottom wall 20 provides a first or higherramp section 32 that extends to this horizontal plane 31, meeting upperedge 26 (see FIG. 2). This arrangement concentrates items to be cookedcloser to the intersection (see seam or joint 21 reference point 30 inFIG. 2) of bottom wall 20 and rear wall 19. In the drawings, a verticalreference line 33 is positioned exactly halfway between the upper edge26 and rear wall 19. Thus, the dimensions 34 and 35 are equal. However,a greater volume of liquid is contained in that part of the pot 11interior 16 in between vertical reference line 33 and rear wall 19 whencompared to the volume of liquid contained in pot 11 interior 16 inbetween vertical reference line 33 and upper edge 26. Deepest part 39 ofpot 11 is thus in between reference line 33 and rear wall 19 at secondramp section 38.

Pot 11 can be provided with a pair of handles 36, 37 for enabling one ormore users to lift the pot 11 from base 12 for purposes of cleaning, forexample (see FIG. 1). The pot bottom wall 20 includes inclined firstramp section 32 and lesser inclined, lower second ramp section 38 (seeFIG. 2).

Basket 40 has a size and shape that corresponds to pot 11. In thisfashion, basket 40 fits into pot 11 interior 16 during cooking. Basket40 pivotally attaches to pot 11 at one or more hinges or pivotalconnections 41. Basket 40 has end walls 42, 43, rear wall 44 and bottomwall 45. A pair of handles 46, 47 can be provided for lifting basket 40when emptying its contents. When the handles 46, 47 are lifted upwardly,basket 40 rotates upon its hinges or pivotal connections 41 with pot 11.Recesses at 48, 49 can be provided on pot 11 for receiving handles 46,47.

Basket 40 can be of a plurality of sheets of welded aluminum material orthe like, perforated with perforations or openings 50. As with the pot11, basket 40 provides a first inclined ramp section 64 and a lesserinclined second ramp section 83 (see FIG. 8).

When the handles 46, 47 (see FIG. 3) are lifted upwardly, basket 40rotates as illustrated by arrow 65 in FIGS. 6-7 from a cooking position(FIG. 5) to a discharge position (FIG. 8). When this occurs, any seafooditems 60 that are being cooked are canned, biased or pushed in thedirection of arrow 66 by inclined ramp section 64 so that they veryquickly occupy the deepest part 39 of basket 40 which is that portion inbetween vertical reference line 33 and basket rear wall 44. Thisarrangement concentrates the food items 60 to be lifted very close topivotal connection or hinge 41. In this fashion, the apparatus of thepresent invention can cook very large volumes or pounds of seafood suchas for example, 100-200 pounds of seafood items and yet still easilydischarge those food items 60 from basket 40 to lid 51.

Lid 51 attaches at hinges 52 in a pivotal fashion to pot 11. Lid 51 canprovide a pair of handles 53, 54 for lifting the lid 51 from a cookingposition wherein it covers the open top of pot 11 to a dischargeposition (FIG. 8) wherein the lid 51 rotates about 180 degrees orpreferably more than 180 degrees. The lid 51 can be provided with sidewalls 55, 56 for preventing escape of food items 60 that are dischargedfrom basket 40 to lid 51 when lid 51 is in the open or food dischargeposition. In FIG. 8, food items 60 travel upon lid 51 to container 59 asindicated by arrow 67. Food items 60 can slide upon lid 51 via gravityor be pushed using a spoon, paddle or other utensil. Stops or lidsupports 57, 58 can be provided for limiting the degree of opening oflid 51 relative to pot 11. After cooking is complete, fluid containedwithin pot 11 can be drained via fluid outlet fitting 61 and valve 62.Valve 62 can be provided with a valve handle 63 for opening and closingthe valve.

FIGS. 9-13 show an alternate arrangement for supporting the lid 51 in anopen position such as when food items 60 are to be discharged from thepot 11 after cooking is complete. In this alternate arrangement of FIGS.9-13, the lid 51 can be selectively supported in one of multiplepositions. The pot 11 and basket 40 can be similarly configured to theframe 12, pot 11 and basket 40 shown in FIGS. 1-8. For example, the lid51 can be supported in a generally horizontal open position (FIG. 12) orin an inclined open position that forms an obtuse angle with the plane31 that is defined by upper edges 24-27 of the pot 11 (see FIG. 13). Inthe horizontal open position, food items 60 discharged from pot 11 tothe opened lid 51 remain on the lid 51 for further transfer to plates,trays, or other vessels. In the inclined position of FIG. 13, the fooditems discharged to the lid 51 slide downwardly into a large receptaclesuch as a bucket, basket, ice chest or the like 59 as the lid 51functions as a discharge ramp.

Baffle plates 111, 112 can be similarly supported on frame or base 12 inan inclined position. Each baffle plate 111, 112 can be secured to frameor base 12 with connector 115 that extends from frame 12 to a positionalong the edge of plate 111, 112. The top portion of plates 111, 112 canbe secured to frame 12 with a welded connection 116. Each plate 111, 112starts at a position at the pot bottom and extends to a position abouteven with the top of a burner element 13.

FIGS. 9-13 show a lid support 68 that enables support of lid 51 in oneof multiple selected positions for enabling receipt by lid 51 of fooditems 60 that are discharged from pot 11 and basket 40. Lid support 68includes an upper frame 82 that is hingedly attached to the frame orbase 12 using hinges 69 (see FIG. 11). Each hinge 69 supports a shaft 78portion of the lid support 68. The shaft 78 can be supported by two,three or more hinges 69. Shaft 78 connects at its end portions to arms79. Each arm 79 is connected to horizontal section 77. Horizontalsection 77 can be parallel to and spaced from shaft 78. There can be abend 80 at the joint between each arm 79 and horizontal section 77. Whenlid 51 is opened, it rests upon horizontal section 77.

Diagonal support 70 holds upper frame 82 in the selected position.Diagonal support 70 includes support arms 76, horizontal section 75 andpivots or bushings or hinges 72. These pivots, bushings or hinges 72define a pivotal connection at horizontal section 77 between upper frame82 and diagonal support 70. Horizontal section 75 can be selectivelysupported in an upper position by upper receptacles or hooks 73 (seeFIGS. 11, 12) or in a lower position by lower receptacles or hooks 74(see FIGS. 11, 12, 13). In the upper position of FIG. 12, the upperframe 82 is generally horizontally positioned to support the lid 51 inan upper, generally horizontal position. In this upper generallyhorizontal position of FIG. 12, the lid 51 retains food items 60 thatare discharged to it from pot 11 and basket 40. In the lower position ofFIG. 13, lid 51 is inclined so that food items discharged upon lid 51from pot 11 and basket 40 slide upon lid 51 into a receptacle (e.g., icechest 59) placed next to lid 51. It should be understood that otherpositions of the upper frame 82 could be provided by providing otherhooks on frame 12 in addition to the upper and lower receptacles orhooks 73, 74. Clasp 81 is also included on frame 12.

In FIGS. 14-17, there can be seen an additional embodiment, designatedby the numeral 90. Outdoor food boiler 90 has the same overallconfiguration of FIGS. 1-13 with the addition of steamer plate 89.Steamer plate 89 can be welded aluminum material or the like. Steamerplate 89 can be connected to basket 40 for enabling food items 60 to besteamed. In such a case, water is placed in pot 11 but filled to a levelthat is below the steamer plate 89. The steamer plate 89 can be removedwhen not needed, such as when food items 60 are to be boiled in pot 11.During steaming, the steamer plate 89 would be generally horizontallysupported in basket 40 about one quarter to one half the distancebetween the top and bottom of basket 40. Plate 89 includes a horizontal,generally rectangular section 91 that is perforated having a matrix ofopenings 103.

In FIGS. 14 and 16, basket 40 is shown fitted with steamer plate 89.Plate 89 includes a perforated or apertured rectangular section 91.Section 91 has front edge 92, rear edge 93 and side edges 94, 95.Attached to rectangular section 91 are a plurality of hangers 96, 97,98, 99 that enable rectangular section 91 to be supported from rim 104of basket 40. Hangers 96, 97 attach to rim 104 at end wall 43. Hangers98, 99 attach to rim 104 at end wall 42.

Each hanger 96, 97, 98, 99 can include a larger flange 100 which is aninner flange that occupies basket 40 interior 105 as seen in FIG. 14.Each hanger 96-99 has a smaller flange 101 that is an outer flange. Theflanges 100, 101 are spaced apart at least the thickness of the end wall42 or 43 to provide a gap 106 that is receptive of an end wall 42 or 43.Bolted connections (bolt 107, nut 108) 102 can be provided to affix ahanger 96-99 to an end wall 42, 43. Holes or apertures 103 could thus beprovided in each flange 100, 101 for receiving a bolt 107 of such abolted connection 102. The bolt 107 could also pass through an opening50 in basket 40 (see FIG. 17).

PARTS LIST

The following is a list of parts and materials suitable for use in thepresent invention:

Parts Number Description 10 outdoor food boiler 11 pot 12 base/frame 13burner element 14 fuel supply line 15 influent fitting 16 pot interior17 end wall 18 end wall 19 rear wall 20 bottom wall 21 seam/joint 22curved joint/seam 23 curved joint/seam 24 upper edge 25 upper edge 26upper edge 27 upper edge 28 curvature 29 reference point 30 referencepoint 31 horizontal plane 32 first ramp section/higher ramp section 33vertical line 34 dimension 35 dimension 36 handle 37 handle 38 secondramp section/lower ramp section 39 deepest part 40 basket 41hinge(s)/pivotal connection(s) 42 end wall 43 end wall 44 rear wall 45bottom wall 46 handle 47 handle 48 recess 49 recess 50perforation/opening 51 lid 52 hinge 53 handle 54 handle 55 side wall 56side wall 57 stop/lid support 58 stop/lid support 59container/receptacle/ice chest 60 seafood items/food items 61 fluidoutlet fitting 62 valve 63 valve handle 64 inclined ramp section 65arrow 66 arrow 67 arrow 68 lid support 69 hinge(s) 70 diagonal support72 hinge/bushing/pivot 73 upper receptacle/hook 74 lower receptacle/hook75 horizontal section 76 support arm 77 horizontal section 78 shaft 79arm 80 bend 81 clasp 82 upper frame 83 lesser inclined second rampsection 84 legs or feet 85 flame or flames 86 burner jet 87 open endedpipe or tube 88 fuel supply hose 89 steamer plate 90 outdoor cookingapparatus 91 rectangular section 92 front edge 93 rear edge 94 side edge95 side edge 96 hanger 97 hanger 98 hanger 99 hanger 100 inner flange101 outer flange 102 bolted connection 103 perforation/opening/hole 104basket rim 105 basket interior 106 gap 107 bolt 108 nut 109 baffle plate110 baffle plate 111 baffle plate 112 baffle plate 113 connector 114connector 115 connector 116 welded connection

All measurements disclosed herein are at standard temperature andpressure, at sea level on Earth, unless indicated otherwise. Allmaterials used or intended to be used in a human being arebiocompatible, unless indicated otherwise.

The foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only; thescope of the present invention is to be limited only by the followingclaims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A seafood boiler apparatus, comprising: a)a base; b) a pot that rests upon the base, the pot having a bottom, sidewalls, an open top, and a pot interior; c) basket that is sized andshaped to occupy the pot interior, the basket having an upper rim thatincludes a rim front edge, rim sides and a rear edge, the basket beingpivotally connected to the pot at a pivot connection; d) a pot lid thatremovably fits and covers the open top; e) a moveable lid support thatis attached to the base and that extends behind the base and below thepivot connection, the movable lid support enabling a support of the lidin first and second angular positions, including at least one supportedposition that forms a first angle with a horizontal plane in the firstangular position, wherein the first angle is larger than an acute angle,and a second supported position at the second angular position thatforms a second angle that is smaller than the first angle; and f)wherein the lid support includes multiple connectors on the base atvertically spaced apart positions and a moving frame that extendsbetween the lid and a selected one of the connectors.
 2. The seafoodboiler apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a steamer plate thatfits inside the basket.
 3. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 1,wherein the pivot connection includes a hinge.
 4. The seafood boilerapparatus of claim 1, wherein the lid is rotatably attached to the pot.5. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pot has a potshallow end portion and a pot deep end portion, and the pivot connectionincludes a hinge mounted above the pot deep end portion, and the lid isrotatably attached to the pot.
 6. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim1, further comprising a burner supported by the base, one or moreinclined baffle plates supported on the base, wherein the burnerincludes a burner top.
 7. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 6,wherein one or more baffle plates extend from a position near the potbottom to a position about even with the burner top.
 8. The seafoodboiler apparatus of claim 1, wherein, in both the first and secondangular positions, the lid is oriented non-vertically.
 9. A seafoodboiler apparatus comprising: a) a frame having a pot support; b) aburner element supported by the frame; c) a pot that removably fits theframe, the pot having end walls, a rear portion, a front portion, abottom wall, and a pot interior with pot upper opening; d) a basket thatis pivotally attached to the pot, the basket being correspondingly sizedand shaped to the pot so that it fits within the pot interior, thebasket being movable between cooking and food discharge positions; e) alid that is rotatable relative to the pot, and selectably supportable inmultiple open positions by a moveable support, the lid being movablebetween a cooking position wherein the lid covers the pot upper openingand a first supported open position wherein the lid is supported by themoveable support, wherein the lid rotates through at least an obtuseangle from the cooking position to the first supported open position,wherein in the first supported open position, the lid forms a firstsupported open position angle with the cooking position of the lid andfurther when in the first supported open position, the lid forms agenerally horizontally positioned tray for receiving and supporting fooddischarged from the basket; and f) wherein the lid is also movable to asecond supported open position wherein in the second supported openposition the lid is supported by the movable support and the lid forms asecond supported open position angle with the cooking position of thelid, the second supported open position angle being greater than thefirst supported open position angle, and the lid in the second supportedopen position providing support to the received food discharged from thebasket while also allowing the received food discharged from the basketto slide relative to the lid, at the second supported open positionangle and away from the pot interior.
 10. The seafood boiler apparatusof claim 9, wherein the lid has first and second ends, and in the firstand second supported open positions the second end is spaced fartherapart from the frame than the first end is spaced from the frame. 11.The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 9, wherein the frame includesvertically spaced apart first and second receptacles; and in the firstsupported open position the movable support is detachably connected tothe first receptacle; and in the second supported open position themovable support is detachably connected to the second receptacle. 12.The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 9, wherein the movable supportincludes first and second arms that are rotatably connected to eachother.
 13. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 12, wherein the firstarm is rotatably connected to the frame and the second arm is detachablyconnectable to the frame.
 14. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 12,wherein the frame includes a hook which is detachably connectable to thesecond arm.
 15. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 12, wherein theframe includes a “V” shaped receptacle which is detachably connectableto the second arm.
 16. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 9, whereinthe lid has a range of rotation from the cooking position to a maximumopen position, and in the maximum open position, the lid forms a maximumopen angle with the cooking position of the lid which maximum open angleis greater than both the first and second supported open positionangles.
 17. The seafood boiler apparatus of claim 9, wherein, in thesecond supported open position, the lid is oriented non-vertically.